Apparatus for orienting elongated tailed objects



Sept. 15, 1964 F. c. GLEASON 3,148,762

APPARATUS FOR ORIENTING ELONGATED TAILED OBJECTS Filed March 12, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG].

INVENTOR Z FRED C.GLEASON 46' BY Z7 ATTORNEY Sept. 15, 1964 F. c. GLEASON APPARATUS FOR ORIENTING ELONGATED TAILED OBJECTS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 12, 1962 ep 1964 F. c. GLEASON 3,148,762

APPARATUS FOR ORIENTINGELONGATED TAILED OBJECTS Filed March 12, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR FRED C. GLEASON ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,148,762 APPARATUS FDR ORIENTING ELONGATED TAlLEl) GBEECTS Fred C. Gleason, Cannondale, (101111., assignor to American Home Products Corporation, New York, N.Y., a

corporation of Delaware Filed Mar. 12, 1962, Ser. No. 178,996 23 Claims. ((1. 198-33) This invention relates generally to apparatus for orienting objects of substantially similar configuration. More particularly, the invention relates to apparatus for automatically orienting a series of elongated objects each consisting essentially of a structural enlargement at one end and a tail portion extending from said enlargement.

Although not restricted thereto, the invention is particularly useful for orienting aerosol-valves comprising a cap and a dip tube dependent therefrom, preparatory to automatic insertion of said valves into aerosol cans or containers conveyed on a feed line. With the ever-widening acceptance of the packaging of fluid products in aerosol containers, it has become an increasingly greater problem to provide dependable, rapidly operating, substantially fully automatic means for such preparatory orienting of large quantities of aerosol valves, to replace conventional laborious, time-consuming and costly manual operations. Moreover, increasing proportions of aerosolvalves that are entirely of non-ferrous material are supplanting the formerly conventional aerosol-valves comprising a cap of ferrous material and a non-ferrous dip tube and finger valve. Hence, the use of the action of a magnetic field on the ferrous material cap during the orienting process, as has been taken advantage of in prior object-orienting machinery generally, is not now always available. Gther elongated tailed objects of, for example, plastic materials, such as integral dauber and stopper assemblies, dropper-cap units, and the like, present similar problems of orienting prior to insertion by appropriate machinery into the containers the objects are destined for.

With the foregoing in view, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a simple, highly efficient and economic apparatus for automatically orienting a plurality of elongated tailed objects preparatory to use of such objects.

It is another object of the invention to provide apparatus of the character refer-red to above and which is of particular utility for orienting aerosol valves and similar objects preparatory to positioning such valves or objects in a series of structures such as aerosol cans or other containers.

it is another object of the invention to provide such apparatus which performs the desired orienting operation regardless of the nature of the materials from which the objects are made.

It is another object to provide apparatus of the charac ter referred to above wherein the objects may be dumped haphazardly into a hopper and are thereafter automatically properly oriented at the discharge end of the apparatus.

It is another object of the invention to provide such apparatus which positively assures orienting of the objects at the discharge end and ejects from the system for recycle therein unoriented objects prior to the arrival thereof at the discharge end of the apparatus.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide compact apparatus of the nature described which has the various com onents thereof coactively and spatially related to each other whereby the orienting function is positively assured and performed within a minimum space.

Another object is to provide means for continuously lifting objects from a hopper in which they are in haphazard relationship and feeding them substantially singly to an initially orienting movable surface.

It is yet another object to provide an initially orienting assembly that is capable of furnishing initially oriented elongated tailed objects at a rate upwards of objects per minute.

Another object is to provide such initially orienting assembly which comprises an upwardly moving surface and a slotted chute having its upper receiving end in objectreceiving relationship with the upper discharge end of said upwardly moving surface.

Another object is to provide metering means which assure discharge of oriented objects from the orienting assembly at predeterminable substantially constant intervals.

Another object is to provide an aligning assembly for positively assuring that any unoriented objects received thereby are forceably ejected from the assembly prior to delivery at the discharge end thereof.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as a result of a better understanding thereof upon reference to the following description.

Generally, the invention resides in apparatus comprising a hopper adapted to contain the elongated tailed objects described which are to be oriented; a tail-aligning conveyor comprising a movable surface having an objectreceiving region and an objective-discharging end; a second conveyor operatively associated with the hopper and the tail-aligning conveyor and adapted to withdraw elongated tailed objects from the hopper and to deliver the objects seriatim to the object-receivins region of the movable surface; a tail-aligning chute having its object-receiving end positioned adjacent the object-discharging end of the movable surface and adapted to receive objects discharged from the end of the movable surface, the chute having discharge means at the lower end thereof adapted to discharge objeets therefrom; a horizontal aligning device having one end thereof located adjacent the discharge end of the chute in object-receiving relationship therewith, the horizontal aligning device having discharge means at its other end; an aligned-object accumulator, the accumulator being positioned in object-receiving association with the discharge means of the horizontal device; and diverting means operatively associated with the horizontal aligning device and comprising an object-engaging member and a chute having one end thereof in receiving communication with the horizontal aligning device and the other end thereof in discharge communication with the hopper, the object-engaging member being adapted to force unaligned objects from the horizontal aligning device into said one end of the chute. i v

In a preferred embodiment of a hopper conveyor assembly, particularly useful in the apparatus just described, the hopper, which is adapted to contain elongatedtailed objects, is provided with inclined wall means adapted to direct the objects in the hopper towards a predetermined bottom region thereof. The'conveyor is preferably an inclined elevating conveyor which has the bottom portion thereof in operative association with the predetermined bottoznregion of thehopper and comprises horizontally arranged flight bars adapted to fengage'beneath the en? largemen'ts-of the objects in said region? of the hopper and to convey them upwardly out of the hopper. A downwardly inclined plane is locatedbeneath the upper end of the elevating conveyor and is adapted to receive objects dropping from the upper end of the elevating conveyor. A horizontally disposed, rotatably mounted worm feed is preferably positioned adjacent the lower region of the inclined plane and is adapted to intercept the objects which move downwardly on the inclined plane. Driving means are provided for rotating the worm feed whereby objects intercepted thereby are caused to move horizon- 3 tally toward one end of the feed and finally to drop oif said end.

A preferred embodiment of the tail-aligning assembly referred to above comprises an orienting conveyor which has an upwardly-inclined, movable, upwardly-facing surface adapted to receive the tailed elongated objects to be oriented. Directing means are operatively associated with the surface of the conveyor and are adapted to direct the elongated objects carried upwardly by the surface to an upper predetermined region located on the longitudinai axis of movement of the surface. An orienting chute is provided which has a slot extending longitudinally along the bottom thereof. The chute has at least its upper end open and this upper open end is positioned adjacent to and facing the upper predetermined region of the movable surface with the slot of the chute remote from and in substantial alignment with said predetermined region. The tail-aligning chute extends downwardly from adjacent said region of the movable surface and is inclined in the same general direction as is said surface, whereby the chute is adapted to conduct objects discharged from predetermined region of the movable surface downwardly, with the tails of the objects in said slot.

In a preferred embodiment, the horizontal aligning means for the orienting apparatus comprises two opposed, substantially vertically disposed, substantially horizontally movable belts. Means are provided for supporting said belts in predetermined spaced relationship with each other with the lower edges of the belts closer together than are the upper edges thereof, whereby the belts are adapted to hold between them the enlarged ends of objects with the tails thereof depending through the space defined between the lower edges of the belts. A region of the opposed movable belts is provided where at least one of the belts is unsupported and means are provided for driving the belts in a common direction from. one end of the aligning means toward the other end. Feeding means are operatively associated with said one end of the aligning means and are adapted to discharge objects onto the belts. Compression means are located above the horizontal aligning means at least in the region of said unsupported section of said belt and are adapted to permit properly oriented objects to be conveyed between the belts toward the other end of the aligning means and to force unoriented objects downwardly out of the unsupported section.

A specific embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a complete objectorienting apparatus in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is an end elevational view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 when viewed from the left;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the apparatus of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of the upper discharge region of the upwardly movable and inclined belt and the adjacent receiving region of the downwardly inclined chute shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of the operatively associated upper belt and chute structures shown in FIG. 4, for illustrating how the major proportion of aerosol valves are handled;

FIG. 6 is a sectional plan view taken on line 6-6 of FIG. 1 to show the relationship of parts of the final object-aligning and ejection assembly;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary vertical section taken on line 7-7 of FIG. 6 to illustrate the relationship of certain parts of the assembly of FIG. 6 when the aerosol valves being handled thereby are properly oriented;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary vertical section of FIG. 6 similar to the section of FIG. 7, but showing the relationship of the assembled parts when the aerosol valves being handled are not properly oriented;

FIG. 9 is a perspective View of the guiding and ejecting bar removed from the assembly shown in FIGS. 6-8; and

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of an aerosol valve illustrative of the type of elongated tailed objects that may be oriented by the apparatus of the present invention.

The illustrated apparatus 1 comprises essentially a hopper and conveyor assembly 2, an inclined objectorienting conveyor assembly 3 with which is operatively associated a chute 4, a horizontal aligning and ejecting assembly 5, and driving mechanism for said three assemblies including an electric motor 6, all mounted on a frame 7, and of the structures now described.

A metal supporting frame 7 (FIGS. 1, 2 and 3) comprises two main front standards 8 and 9 and two main rear standards 10 and 11. As shown in FIG. 1, each one of a set of three front horizontal rails 12, 13 and 14 is connected at its respective ends to standards 8 and 9 and each one of a set of corresponding rear horizontal rails 15, 16 and 17 is similarly connected to the rear standards l0 and 11. End horizontal rails 18, 19 and 2! are connected to the standards 8 and 11, and corresponding end horizontal rails 21, 22 and 23 are connected to the standards 9 and 10 to complete the generally rectangular parallelepiped configuration of the frame 7.

Uppermost end horizontal rail 21 is provided midway of its ends with a U-shaped dip formed by a pair of downwardly extending vertical reaches 21a (one of which is visible in FIG. 2) and a lower horizontal reach 21b (shown in dotted outline in FIG. 1 and visible in FIG. 3) connecting the lower ends of reaches 21a, for purposes that will appear hereinafter.

A lowermost end rail 24 is supported on the outside surface of standards 8 and 11 and a similar end rail 25 is supported on the outside surface of standards 9 and 1t) opposite said rail 24. Rails 24 and 25 respectively have in-turned sections 26 and 27 which, in turn, respectively carry backwardly disposed extensions 28 and 29.

A hopper 30 (FIG. 2), having a front Wall 31, a rear wall 32, end walls 33 and 34 (FIGS. 1 and 3), a bottom wall 35 and an open top 36, is positioned adjacent the lower rear region of frame 7 and maintained in predetermined relationship therewith by attachment of end walls 33 and 34 to said extensions 28 and 29 of rails 24 and 25 respectively. Hopper 30 is provided at its rear wall 32 with an inner inclined curvilinear wall 37 which is attached at its top to rear wall 32 and then curves downwardly and forwardly toward front wall 31 but ending considerably short of the latter as shown.

An inclined elevating conveyor assembly 38 is provided which has its bottom end extending downwardly through the open top 36 of hopper 36* into a region 39 thereof defined by the bottom end of curvilinear wall 37, the forward portion of bottom wall 35 and the bottom portion of front wall 31. The upper end of elevating conveyor assembly 38 extends to a point above frame 7.

The inclined elevating conveyor structure 38 comprises an endless belt 40 mounted on top and bottom rollers 41 and 42 which are respectively provided with axial shafts 43 and 44 for rotation therewith. Lower shaft 44 has its bearing ends rotatably mounted in a pair of opposed bearings 45 and 46 respectively affixed to the inner surfaces of ends wall 33 and .34 of hopper 30. Upper shaft 43 has its right bearing end (as viewed in FIG. '1) mounted in a bearing 47 in an upright 48 positioned on upper end rail 21. The left bearing end of shaft 43 extends through a bearing 49 supported by an upright 50 positioned on upper end rail 18. Affixed to the portion of shaft 43 located between roller 41 and bearing 47, is a small pulley 51 and aflixed to the extreme right end of shaft 43 (as viewed in FIG. 1) for rotation therewith is a larger pulleySZ. The entire outer surface of endless belt 40 is provided with a plurality of cleats 53 each traversing horizontally the entire width of the belt 40 at predetermined intervals longitudinally thereof and extending at right angles thereto. Preferably, the cleats 53 extend from the surface of belt 41 a distance approximately equal to the length of the radius of the enlarged end portions of the elongated objects to be oriented, and the distance between the cleats 53 is at least slightly greater than the total length of said objects, both for purposes that Will appear hereinafter. Mounted below the upper end of the elevating conveyor assembly 38, and in object-receiving relationship therewith, is an inclined plane 54 supported in said position by rods 55 and 56 attached to uprights 50 and 48, respectively.

A roller 121, horizontally disposed adjacent to and longitudinally of the extent of the lower region of inclined plane 54, is affixed to a shaft 122 rotatabiy mounted in opposed bearing apertures 123 and 124 respectively provided in upper end rails 18 and 21. Roller 121 is provided with a continuous, helically arranged cleat 125 extending the entire width of said roller to form therewith a worm feed. Shaft 122 between the right end of roller 121 (as viewed in FIGS. 1 and 3) and the bearing aperture 124, has affixed thereto a pulley 125 in alignment with pulley 51 mounted on shaft 43.

Located below helically cleated roller 121, in objectreceiving relationship therewith, is an inclined endless belt 57 mounted on an upper roller 58 and a lower roller 59. Upper roller 58 has axially afiixed therein a shaft 61), the bearings ends of which are rotatably mounted in aligned bearing apertures 61 of a pair of horizontally extending supports 62 in turn mounted on standards 9* and 10. Lower roller 59 is similarly provided with a shaft 63 which is rotatably mounted in aligned bearing apertures 64 provided in standards 65 supported on horizontal rails 13 and 16. As shown in FIG. 3, shaft 61 extends through bear-ing aperture 61 and beyond front rail 12. Attached to this extension of shaft so for rotation therewith is a pulley 120.

The upper surface 66 of endless belt 57 is bounded at its front and rear edges by a pair of opposed walls 67 supported in position in parallel relationship .to each other and extending from the lowermost planar region of said upper surface 66 to a region intermediate the upper and lowermost regions. The supporting means for walls 67 comprises a pair of L-shaped suspension rods 6% respectively attached by their upper horizontally extending arms 68:: to horizontal rails 12 and 1S and at their bottom vertically disposed ends to walls 67, in cooperation with a pair of horizontally extending L-shaped supports 6% respectively attached by their ends 69a to standards 8 and 11 and, by their other ends, to walls 67. A rear wall '70 (FIGS. 2 and 3) connects walls 67, and therewith and, with the upper surface 66 of belt 67, provides a receptacle open only at the top and at its upper end. Attached to the upper end of each of walls 67 by hinges 71 is a diverter 72. Each of diverters 72 has coupled thereto by means of an arched retainer cup 72a affixed thereon, the enlarged end 73a of an adjustment screw 73, the threaded shank of which extends through a screwthreaded aperture 74 in the vertical reach of each of a second pair of L-shaped suspension rods 75 respectively attached at their'upper ends 75a to rails 12 and 15. The adjustment screws 73 are provided with wing heads 76 to permit laterally pivotal adjustment of diver-ters 72 toward and away from each other on their respective hinges 71 by turning of heads 76 manually.

Positioned adjacent the upper end of the endless belt 57 is the chute assembly 4. As seen in FIG. 1, the chute assembly 4, in its general arrangement, curves around an axis located in the general region of the upper roller 58 of endless belt 57 and then extends downwardly beneath said belt and in the same general direction, but at a steeper inclination. As seen in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, chute assembly 4 comprises at its upper curved end a pair of side walls 77 which are spaced apart at the edges thereof remote from the endless belt to form a narrow slot 78. As best seen in FIG. 4, in the region of the upper end of endless belt 57, said walls 77 diverge in the direction to- Ward their edges which are closer to said belt 57 to form a channel having a generally funnel-like configuration in cross-section with the mouth 130 thereof always facing toward the upper end of endless belt 57, for a purpose which will appear hereinafter. Each of walls 77 is adjustably maintained in the position described by supporting means comprising an upper support 79 afilxed thereto and attached to a longitudinally slotted L-shaped support 811 by means of a respective adjustment screw 81. The unslotted arms 841a of L-shaped supports 80 are respectively aflixed to vertical reaches of the U-shaped dip in rail 21. The support means additionally comprises a pair of lower supports 82 each of which is respectively fixedly attached to the lower region of a wall 77 and adjustably mounted by means of an adjustment screw 84 on a slotted horizontal L-shaped support 83 respectively afiixed by its unslot-ted arm 83a to standards 9 and 16.

Positioned within the upwardly facing open mouth 130 of the chute 4, in the lower region thereof, is a metering wheel 131 having a resilient surface 132 adapted to contact yieldingly the top ends of objects sliding down chute 4. Wheel 131 is rotatably mounted on a shaft 137 in bearings 133 carried by each of a pair of standards 134 respectively mounted on rails 13 and 16. Alsomounted on shaft 137 for rotation therewith is a pulley 135. The chute assembly 4 terminates in a lower discharge end 136 below said wheel 131.

Also supported on rails 13 and 16 are a pair of generally U-shaped brackets 85 and 86 mounted in inverted position. Each bracket 85 and 15- 3 has a pair of bearing apertures 87 and 88 therein. Similarly mounted on lower rails 14 and 17 are another pair of generally U-shaped bearing brackets 8 and 9% also provided with respective pairs of bearing apertures 87' and 88. Bearing bracket 85 is positioned above bracket 39 and bracket 89 is positioned above bracket 91 whereby bearing apertures 87 and 87 of the respective brackets are in vertical alignment and bearing apertures 88 and 83 are also in vertical alignment. Positioned in each of said four aligned pairs of bearing apertures is a respective shaft 91 of a roller 92. Mounted on the two front rollers 92 (as viewed in FIG. 1) is an endless belt 93, and similarly mounted on rear rollers 92 is a second endless belt 94. Fixedly attached to the top end of each of shafts 91 of the two rollers 92 at the left, as Viewed in FIGS. 1 and 6, is a pulley 95.

Suspended from rail 13 are a pair of L-shaped supporting brackets 96 and opposed thereto and suspended from rail 16 are a pair of similarly L-shaped brackets 97. Each one of the two pairs of L-shaped brackets 96 and 97 is provided in its vertical reach with a vertically extending slot 93 to accommodate a fastening screw 99 of an angled belt support 1111) now to be described.

As best seen in FIGS. 7 and 8, each support 1% comprises essentially a verticalreach 1&1 in which the screw 99 is threaded, a horizontal reach 192 connected to the lower end of reach 191, and a rectangularly shaped bearing surface 1&3 (FIGS. 1 and 6), which is carried by horizontal reach 192 so that said surface is inclined downwardly and inwardly (FIGS. 7 and 8) whereby the lower edges of each pair of opposed'bearing surfaces 1113 are closer than are the upper edges thereof. Each of said surfaces 1113 bears on the inner surface 111 2- of the inner por tion 1115 of each of'endless belts 93 and 94 whereby said belts are urged toward downwardly convergent relationship to define therebetween an area of generally V-shaped vertical cross-section (FIGS. 2, 7 and 8). Said area, as seen in PEG. 6, extends horizontally from the right edge of the right pair of bearing surfaces 1% tothe left edge of the left pair of bearing surfaces 1123.

The entire endless belt assembly described above is p0- in the region of the right pair of bearing surfacesifi (FIGS. 1 and 6). At the other end of endlessbelts 93 and 94 and positioned between the left pair of rollers 92 (FIGS. 1 and 6), where the left pair of bearing surfaces 103 no longer urge endless belts 93 and 94 towards each other; there is positioned a downwardly inclined slotted accumulator chute 166 for receiving with the tails thereof positioned in the slot 197, elongated, oriented objects delivered by said endless belts 93 and 94. A second metering wheel 165 is rotatably mounted above slot 107 in the upper region of chute M6. The mounting means for metering wheel 165 comprises a shaft 166 rotatable therewith and journaled in bearing apertures 167 provided in a pair of opposed standards 168, each of which is respectively afiixed to a rail 14 and 17. A pulley 164 is also affixed to shaft 166 for rotation therewith.

A pair of horizontally disposed rail members 108 are attached at their ends to the respective bottom surfaces of rails 13 and 16, inwardly of brackets 96, and above the V-shaped area defined between endless belts 93 and 94. A generally V-shaped member 110 (FIG. 9) is provided at the upper ends of its upright arms with horizontally extending cars 1119:; each having an aperture 116b, and in its bottom reach 111 with a longitudinal slot 112. In assembly (FIG. 1), member 118* is attached to the undersides of rails 108 as by screw 11% passing through apertures 11% of cars lltla and into aligned apertures (not visible) in rails 108. The arrangement of parts is such that the slotted bottom reach 111 of U-shaped member 111 is positioned well down within the V-shaped area defined by the convergent portions of endless belts 93 and 94 and well within the region between the proximate edges of the right and left pairs of bearing surfaces 103 respectively, for a purpose that will become apparent hereinafter.

Located beneath the above-defined region of the V-shaped area of endless belts 93 and 94 is a generally funnel-shaped open-topped hopper 113 supported in upright position by two pairs of L-shaped brackets 114 respectively mounted on front and rear rails 14 and 17. As shown, the upper open mouth 115 of hopper 113 extends for the entire length of bottom reach 111 of U-shaped member 111 The bottom of hopper 113 is provided with a discharge conduit 116 which is inclined rearwardly and downwardly (FIG. 2) towards main hopper 39 and is connected to a similarly inclined conduit 117 which curves to the right of hopper 30 (FIG. 1) and finally discharges into an opening 118 in the upper region of side 34 of hopper 30 (FIG. 2).

The driving assembly comprises an electric motor 6 affixed to and suspended from rails 14 and 17 by a pair of shallow U-shaped brackets 119. Electric motor 6 is supplied with a cable 121 for connection to a source of electric current and is provided with the usual on-otf switch and speed control (not shown). The drive shaft 171 of motor 6 extends to the right (as viewed in FIG. 2) beyond the vertical plane of rails 8 and 9 and is provided near its end with a pulley 172 afiixed thereto for rotation therewith. The portion of shaft 171 extending to the left (FIG. 2) is provided short of its end with a pulley (not visible). A shallow U-shaped rail 123 is mounted by its ends on rails 14 and 17. A pair of rods 124, attached to rail 123 and dependent therefrom, furnish bearings for the shaft 125 of a pulley 176 (FIG. 2). Attached to the extreme left end of shaft 125 is a bevel gear 127. A pair of bearing rods 128 and 129 supported on and extending horizontally from standard 11 has rotatably' mounted therein shaft 146 which at its right end (as viewed in FIG. 1) has a bevel gear 141 meshing with bevel gear 127. The left end of shaft 149 has affixed thereto a pulley 142. Driving belt 143 is looped over pulleys 142 and 52.

A pair of standards 144, each of which is respectively mounted on one of rails 13 and 16, supports a drive shaft 145 which (as seen in FIG. 2) extends beyond the vertical plane of standards 8 and 9. Fixedly mounted on said extension of shaft 145 for rotation therewith are pulleys 146 and 147. A smaller pulley 148 is affixed to shaft 145 interiorly of the plane of standards 8 and 9. A triple pulley 153 (only the proximate sheave of which is shown in FIG. 1) is mounted on said shaft 145 substantially midway of the portion of shaft 145 extending between standards 144. A driving belt 149 is looped over pulley 172 of electric motor 6 and over pulley 146 on shaft 145. Endless belt 159 drivingly connects pulleys 147 and while endless belt 151 drivingly connects pulleys 148 and 164. As best seen in FIG. 1, a driving belt 152 is looped over the proximate sheave of triple pulley 153 on horizontal shaft and after a half twist is looped around front pulley 95 atlixed to the upper end of vertical shaft 91. Similarly, a second half-twisted endless belt 154 is looped over the remote sheave of triple pulley 153 and rear pulley 95 (FIG. 2). The middle sheave of triple pulley 153 is drivingly connected with pulley 135 by an endless belt 155. Endless belt 156 drivingly connects pulley 51 with pulley 126. Another endless belt 156 drivingly connects the pulley (not visible) on the extension of shaft 171 to the left, as viewed in FIG. 2, to pulley 126.

The operation of the above apparatus will now be described with respect to its use for orienting aerosol dip tubes as an example of the elongated tailed objects for which said apparatus is particularly adapted. As shown in FIG. 10, these dip tubes 159 conventionally comprise a valve head 169, which may be of metal or plastic material, an elongated tube or stem 161, and a shorter tube 162 which functions as valve actuator and discharge conduit when the dip tube is positioned in an aerosol container.

A plurality of dip tubes 159 are dumped into hopper 30 in haphazard relationship. Motor 6 is started and through the driving system comprising belts 156 and 143 and the associated pulleys including pulleys 126, 142 and 52 described hereinbefore, elevating conveyor belt 40 moves in the direction of the arrow (FIG. 2). As cleats 53 on belt 40 move upwardly through the mass of dip tubes in hopper 30 (which dip tubes are directed against elevating conveyor belt 40 by inclined wall 37), the valve heads 160 of various dip tubes 159 are engaged by said cleats and lifted upwardly with the stems 161 of the valves depending as shown in FIG. 2 at 11. Other dip tubes may be picked up in lateral position on cleats 53 as shown at b. When the dip tubes 159 reach the upper discharge end of endless belt 40 they slide downwardly on inclined plane 54 until they reach the substantially V-shaped area defined between the bottom region of inclined plane 54 and the adjacent periphery of worm feed 121. As worm feed 121 rotates in the direction of the curved arrow (FIG. 3), helical cleat 125 engages the valve heads 160 and/or the ends of stems 161 of the dip tubes 159 and moves the latter towards the left end of worm feed 121 as viewed in FIGS. 1 and 3 until they drop off said end into the receptacle 66 formed by walls 67 and 70 on the upper surface of upwardly moving endless belt57. As will be apparent upon inspection of FIG. 3, if perchance a dip tube 159 on worm feed 121 falls from the periphery thereof remote from plane 54; due to the relationship of parts, the dip tube will still drop to the upwardly moving surface of endless belt 57. As the dip tubes 159 move upwardly they are caused by diverters 72 to be directed to a limited location at the upper end of endless belt which is in substantial alignment with the inverted funnel-shaped mouth of the upper curved portion of chute 4 defined by walls 77.

Because the valve heads 160 of dip tubes 159 have a greater mass than do the tails 161 thereof, the frictional efiect of the upwardly moving surface 66 of belt 57 (which in this case was of rubberized canvas, inclined at an angle of approximately 30 and driven at a linear speed of approximately 5 feet per second) is to cause most of the dip tubes 159 to orient as they move upwardly to assume the position where the heavier valve end 160 is leading (as shown at 159a in FIGS. 2 and 3), since the 9 tail 161, being lighter tends to slip rearwardly as the belt moves forwardly and upwardly.

Hence, in the more usual or normal situation, the dip tubes 159 are caused to orient themselves on endless belt 57 to the extent that the heavier valve ends 160 lead the lighter tail ends as they move upwardly on said endless belt. When the tubes reach the upper end of the belt 57 and begin to fall off the belt as they move outwardly due to the momentum imparted them, the valved ends 1641 coming oif endless belt 57 first begin to drop to assume position 1591) in FIG. 5. Then as the tubes move outwardly and downwardly, the leading periphery of the valve head 160 engages and is checked by the narrowing area defined by walls 77 of chute 4 with the result that the tail portion 161 continues to move forwardly and is directed by the converging sides of the walls 77 so that tail 161 then extends through slot 78 as illustrated at 15% (FIG. 5). Gravity then predominates so that the dip tubes are then oriented to position where the lower surface of the valve heads engage the converging surface of walls 77 and the tail protrudes through slot 78 as the tubes continue their descent in chute 4 in oriented relationship as at 159d and 159:2.

In the rare case where the tail is leading as at 159 (FIG. 2), as the dip tube 159 reaches the upper region of endless belt 57 Where it turns downwardly over upper roller 58, gravity causes the tail 161 of dip tube 159 to begin to tilt downwardly while the momentum of the entire dip tube 159 causes it to move forwardly into the open mouth of chute 4. The funnel-shaped cross-sectional configuration of the walls 77 towards slot 78 directs the tail 161 into said slot in all these cases. Hence, the dip tube 159 enters upper region of chute 4 in the position shown in FIG. 1 in dotted lines and designated 159g. The dip tube 159 continues to move forwardly due to its momentum and downwardly due to gravity until it is positioned in the chute with the under surface of valve head 16% abutting the interiorly lower surface of chute 4 and with the tail 161 protruding through the slot 78 as shown in dotted outline designated 15911.

As the upper valve stems 162 of dip tubes 159 move down in chute 4 as at 1591' (FIG. 1), and are contacted by metering wheel 132, due to the high peripheral speed of said wheel 132, the tubes are caused to be accelerated downwardly one by one to the discharge end 136 of chute 4. After they fall from the discharge end 136 of chute 4, the dip tubes 159 alight in the V-shaped area between endless belts 93 and 94 which are moving in the direction of the arrows. If the dip tube is properly oriented at this time it rides through the V-shaped area with the lower surface of valve head 169 resting at two opposite points on its periphery between the opposed surfaces of endless belts 93 and 94. The tail 161 of the dip tube extends downwardly between the opening or slot provided at the bottom of the V-shaped area, and the upper stem 162 rides within the slot 112 of U-shaped member 119 (FIG. 7). The dip tubes are moved by endless belts 93 and 94 to the left as viewed in FIG. 1 until said tubes approach beyond left bearing surface 193 Where the convergence of the bottom edges of belts 93 and 94 begins to diminish. At this point the oriented dip tubes 159, no longer retained by the bottom edges of belts 93 and 94, move downwardly and forwardly until they alight upon accumulator chute 166 with the tails of the dip tubes 159 extending downwardly through slot 197. The dip tubes 159 are then urged along on accumulator chute 106 by the metering wheel 1&5 toward automatic machinery for inserting dip tubes into aerosol containers therefor, for example (not shown).

In the event a dip tube 159 is not properly oriented when carried between endless belts 93 and 94 beneath U-shaped member 110, bottom reach 111 thereof then functions as a pressure bar to push the unoriented dip converging bottom edges of endless belts 93 and 94 in the region of U-shaped member are unsupported, the dip tubes move downwardly as they urge the resilient edges of the belts outwardly until the tubes fall free of the belts and into the open mouth 115. The dip tubes then slide downwardly via conduits 116 and 117 until they enter hopper 30 through aperture 118 for recycling through the orienting apparatus. As will be understood, the dip tubes 159 may be improperly oriented in various ways such as by being inadvertently disposed longitudinally of the V- shaped area between belt surfaces 105, as illustrated in dotted outline in FIG. 8; or by being vertically disposed, but bunched together so that the valve 160 of one dip tube 159 rides atop the valve 160 of an adjacent dip tube 159, whereupon reach 111 of pressure bar 110 will perform its function of forcing such unoriented dip tubes downwardly between the unsupported convergent sections of the belts 93 and 94 and into return hopper 113.

It will be understood that the above-described embodiment of the invention is merely illustrative thereof. Thus, numerous other arrangements and modifications of the components of the apparatus may be readily devised by those skilled in the art which will embody the principles of the invention and fall within the spirit and scope thereof. Merely by way of example, chain and sprocket drives may be substituted for the belt and pulley drives shown, more than a single motor or other prime mover means may be utilized as driving means, other diverting means may be provided for the inclined endless orienting belt than those shown, the inclination, material and speed of said inclined endless belts may be varied, the metering wheels may be substituted by endless belts, etc.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for orienting elongated tailedobjects having arr enlargement at one end, said apparatus comprising:

(1) a hopper adapted to contain elongated tailed objects having an enlargement at one end;

(2) a tail-aligning conveyor comprising a movable surface having an object-receiving region and an objectdischarging end;

(3) a second conveyor operatively associated with said hopper and said tail-aligning conveyor and adapted to withdraw elongated tailed objects from said hopper and to deliver the objects seriatim to said objectreceiving region of said movable surface;

(4) a tail-aligning chute having its object-receiving end positioned adjacent said object-discharging end of said movable surface and adapted to receive objects discharged from said end of said movable surface, said chute having discharge means at the lower end thereof adapted to discharge objects from said chute;

(5) a horizontal aligning device having one end thereof located adjacent said discharge end of said chute in object-receiving relationship therewith, said horizontal aligning device having discharge means at the other end thereof; (6) an aligned-object accumulator, said accumulator being positioned in object-receiving association with I said discharge means of said horizontal device, and (7) diverting means operatively associated with said horizontal aligning device and comprising an objectengaging member and a chute having one end thereof in receiving communication with said horizontal aligning device and the other end thereof in discharge communication with said hopper, said object-engaging member being adapted to force unaligned objects from said horizontal aligning device into said one end of said chute. r 2. Apparatus for orienting elongated tailed objects having an enlargement at one end, said apparatus comprising:

(1) a hopper positioned at a lower level and adapted (2) a tail-aligning conveyor positioned at a higher level i and comprising an upwardly movable surface having 11 andobject-receiving region and an object-discharging en (3) a second conveyor having the lower object-receiving end thereof operatively associated with said hopper and the upper object-discharging end thereof positioned above said tail-aligning conveyor and adapted to withdraw elongated tailed objects from said lower level hopper and to deliver the objects upwardly and then seriatim downwardly to said object-receiving region of said higher level movable surface;

(4) a tail-aligning chute having its upper objectreceiving end positioned adjacent said upper objectdischarging end of said movable surface and adapted to receive objects discharged from said end of said movable surface, said chute having the major portion of its length inclined downwardly beneath said upwardly inclined movable surface and having discharge means at the lower end thereof adapted to discharge objects from said chute;

(S) a horizontal aligning device having one end thereof located adjacent said discharge end of said chute in object-receiving relationship therewith, said horizontal aligning device extending beneath said upwardly movable surface having discharge means at the other end thereof;

(6) an aligned-object accumulator, said accumulator being in operative association with said discharge means of said horizontal aligning device; and

(7) diverting means operatively associated with said horizontal aligning device and comprising an objectengaging member and a chute having the upper end thereof beneath and in object-receiving communication with an intermediate region of said horizontal aligning device and the lower end thereof in discharge communication with said upper, said objectengaging member being adapted to force unaligned objects from said device into said upper end of such chute.

3. As claimed in claim 2 wherein said hopper and said second conveyor are intersected by a first vertical plane and said tail-aligning conveyor, said tail-aligning chute, and said horizontal aligning device are intersected by a second vertical plane parallel to said first vertical plane.

4. Apparatus for orienting elongated tailed objects having an enlargement at one end, said apparatus comprising:

(1) a hopper adapted to contain elongated tailed objects having an enlargement at one end;

(2) a conveyer in operative association with said hopper and adapted to convey the objects in said hopper out of said hopper;

(3) a downwardly inclined plane located beneath the discharge end of said conveyor and adapted to receive objects dropping from the upper end of said conveyer;

(4) a horizontally disposed worm feed positioned adjacent the lower region of said inclined plane and adapted to receive the objects which move downwardly on said inclined plane;

(5) a tail-aligning conveyer comprising an upwardly inclined movable surface, said surface being positioned beneath said worm feed whereby the discharge end of said worm feed is adapted to discharge objects to the lower region of said movable surface;

(6) directing means operatively associated with said movable surface and adapted to direct the objects carried upwardly by said surface to a predetermined location at the upper end thereof;

(7) a tail-aligning chute having a slot therein extending longitudinally thereof, said aligning chute having its upper end positioned adjacent said upper region of said movable surface and adapted to receive objects discharged from the upper region of said movable surface with tailed portion of said objects extending through the slot of the chute, said chute extending downwardly from said upper end thereof and i2 adapted at least for part of its length to permit free downward movement therein of the tailed objects received at its upper end;

(8) said chute having discharge means at the lower end thereof adapted to discharge objects from said chute;

(9) horizontal aligning means having one end thereof located adjacent said discharge end of said chute in object-receiving relationship therewith, said horizon tal aligning means comprising two opposed verticall disposed movable surfaces, means supporting said surfaces in predetermined spaced relationship with each other whereby said surfaces are adapted to hold therebetween and movable therewith the objects discharged from said chute, by the enlarged ends of the objects thereof, depending through the space defined etween said surfaces, said opposed movable surfaces having a region thereof where they are unsupported;

(10) diverting means located above said horizontal aligning means at least in the region of said unsupported sections of said surfaces and adapted to permit properly oriented objects to continue to be conveyed between said surfaces to a point of use and to divert unoriented objects out of the unsupported region defined by said oppositely disposed surfaces and back to said hopper.

5. Apparatus for orienting elongated tailed objects hav-:

ing an enlargment at one end, said apparatus comprising:

(1) a hopper having an open top and adapted to re ceive and contain elongated tailed objects having an enlargement at one end;

(2) an elevating conveyor having the lower end thereof in operative association with said hopper and adapted to convey the objects in said hopper upwardly out of said hopper;

(3) a downwardly inclined plane located beneath the upper end of said elevating convcyer and adapted to receive objects dropping from the upper end of said elevating conveyor;

(4) a horizontally disposed worm feed positioned adjacent the lower region of said inclined plane, said worm feed having its axis extending in a plane substantially parallel to the plane in which said elevating conveyer moves upwardly;

(5) a tail-aligning conveyer comprising an upwardly inclined movable surface positioned laterally adjacent a region of said elevating conveyor intermediate said ends thereof, said surface extending in substantially the same direction as does the axis of said worm feed and being positioned beneath said worm feed for at least the length of the latter whereby the discharge end of said worm feed is adapted to discharge objects to the lower region of said surface and the remainder of the worm feed is disposed over other regions of said surface to assure that objects inadvertently falling from said worm feed other than from said discharge end also reach said surface;

(6) directing means operatively associated with said movable surface and adapted to direct the objects carried upwardly by said surface to a predetermined location at the upper end thereof;

('7) a tail-aligning chute having a slot therein extend ing longitudinally thereof, said aligning chute having its upper end positioned adjacent said upper region of said movable surface and adapted to receive objects discharged from the upper region of said movable surface with tailed portion of said objects extending through the slot of the chute, said chute extending downwardly from said upper end thereof and inclined for the major portion of its length beneath said tail-aligning conveyer and in the direction of the latter; 7 a r (8) said chute terminating in a lower discharge end laterally adjacent said intermediate region of said elevating conveyor;

(9) horizontal aligning means extending laterally ad:

13 jacent said intermediate region of said elevating conveyer and having one end thereof located below said discharge end of said chute in object-receiving relationship therewith, said horizontal aligning means comprising two opposed vertically disposed movable force unoriented objects downwardly out of the unsupported region defined by said oppositely disposed surfaces and into said hopper therebelow.

14 (9) horizontal aligning means having one end thereof located below said discharge end of said chute in object-receiving relationship therewith, said horizon tal aligning means comprising two opposed vertically disposed movable belts, means supporting said belts surfaces, means supporting said surfaces in predein predetermined spaced relationship with each other termined spaced relationship with each other wherewith the lower edges of said belts closer together by said surfaces are adapted to hold therebetween than are the upper edges thereof whereby said belts and movable therewith the objects discharged from are adapted to hold therebetween and movable theresaid chute, by the enlarged ends of the objects, with with the enlarged ends of objects metered from the tails thereof depending through the space defined said chute with the tails thereof depending through between said surfaces, said opposed movable surthe space defined between said lower edges of said faces having a region thereof where they are unbelts, said opposed movable belts having a region supported, said region being positioned directly above thereof where they are unsupported; said open top of said hopper; 15 (10) compression means located above said horizontal (10) diverting means located above said horizontal aligning means at least in the region of said unsupaligning means at least in the region of said unsupported sections of said belts and adapted to permit ported sections of said surfaces and adapted to perproperly oriented objects to continue to be conveyed mit properly oriented objects to continue to be conbetween said belts to a point of use and to force unveyed between said surfaces to a point of use and to oriented objects downwardly out of the unsupported region defined by said oppositely disposed belts; (11) return chute means having the upper end thereof in object-receiving relationship below said unsup- '6. Apparatus for orientin elongated tailed objects ported region of said belts and having the discharge having an enlargement at one end, said apparatus comend directed into said hopper for return of uncriprising: ented objects thereto.

(1) a hopper adapted to contain elongated tailed ob- 7. Apparatus for orienting elongated tailed objects havjects having an enlargement at one end;

(2) an elevating conveyer in operative association with said hopper and comprising horizontally arranged flight bars adapted to engage beneath the enlargements of the objects in said hopper and to convey them upwardly out of said hopper;

(3) a downwardly inclined plane located beneath the upper end of said elevating conveyer and adapted to receive objects discharging from the upper end of said elevating conveyor;

(4) a horizontally disposed worm feed positioned ad- (5) a tail-aligning conveyor comprising an upwardly ing an enlargement at one end, said apparatus comprising:

(1) a hopper adapted to contain elongated tailed objects having an enlargement at one end, said hopper having at least one side thereof inclined upwardly and downwardly in the lower region and adapted to direct the objects contained in said hopper toward a predetermined bottom region thereof;

(2) an elevating conveyer in operative association with said hopper in said predetermined bottom region thereof and comprising an endless belt, said belt having mounted thereon horizontally arranged flight bars adapted to engage beneath the enlargements of the objects in said region of said hopper and to convey them upwardly out of said hopper to an upper discharge end of said elevating conveyer;

(3) a downwardly inclined plane located beneath said upper discharge end of said elevating conveyor and adapted to receive objects discharging from said inclined movable belt, said belt extending in substan- 4:5 flight bars as they arrive at the upper endof said tially the same direction as does the axis of said elevating conveyor;

worm feed and beneath said worm feedrfor at least (4) a horizontally disposed worm feed positioned adjathe length of the latter whereby the discharge end cent the lower region of said inclined plane and of said worm feed is adapted to discharge objects adapted to receive the objects which move downto the lower region of said belt and the remainder of wardly on said inclined plane, said Worm feed having the worm feed is disposed over other regions of said its axis extending in a plane substantially parallel to belt to assure that objects inadvertently falling from the plane in which said fiight'bars of said elevating said worm feed other than from said discharge end conveyer move upwardly and also to the plane in also reach said belt; t which said inclined plane extends;

(6) converging means operatively associated with said (5) a tail-aligning oonveyer comprising an upwardly movable belt and adapted to direct elongated objects inclined endless movable belt, said endless belt excarried upwardly by said belt to a predetermined lotending in substantially the same direction as does the cation at the upper end thereof; axis of said worm feed and being positioned with the 7) a tail-aligning chute having a slot therein exten'dupper surface of the upper ends of said belt beneath ing longitudinally thereof, said aligning chute havsaid worrn'feed for at least the length of the latter ing its upper end positioned adjacent said upper rewhereby the discharge end of said worm feed is gion of said movable belt and adapted to receive adapted to discharge objects to the lower region of objects discharged from the upper region of said said upper surface of said belt and the remainder of movable belt with tailed portion of said, objects the worm'feed is disposed over other regions of said extending through the slot of the chute, said chute belt to assure that objects inadvertently falling from extending downwardly from said upper end thereof said worm feed other than from said discharge end and inclined for the major portion of its length bealso reach said upper surface of said belt; neath said tail-aligning conveyer and in the direction (6) converging wall means operatively associated with of the latter and adapted at least for part of its said upper surface of said movable belt at least in the length to permit free downward movement therein upper region thereof and adapted to direct elongated of the tailed objects received at its upper end; objects carried upwardly by said belt to a predeter- (8) metering means operatively associated with said mined location in the upper region thereof;

. chute below said part of its length and adapted (7) a tail-aligning chute having a slot-therein extending to meter movement of objects along said chute to longitudinally thereof, said aligning chute having its the lower discharge end thereof; 7 i

upper end positioned adjacent said upper region of.

said movable belt and adapted to receive objects discharged from the upper region of said movable belt with the tailed portion of said objects extending through the slot of the chute, said chute extending downwardly from said upper end thereof and inclined for the major portion of its length beneath said tail-aligning conveyer and in the direction of the latter and adapted at least for part of its length to permit free downward movement therein of the tailed objects received at its upper end;

(8) contacting and metering means operatively associated with said chute below said part of its length and adapted to engage the upper portions of the objects moving in said chute and to control movement of the objects along said chute to the lower discharge end thereof;

(9) horizontal aligning means having one end thereof located below said discharge end of said chute in object-receiving relationship therewith, said horizontal aligning means comprising two opposed horizontally extending vertically disposed endless movable belts, angle means supporting said belts in predetermined spaced relationship with each other with the lower edges of the adjacent surfaces of said belts closer together than are the upper edges thereof whereby said belts are adapted to hold therebetween and movable therewith the enlarged ends of objects metered from said chute, with the tails thereof depending through the space defined between said lower edges of said belts, said opposed movable belts having a region thereof where they are unsupported;

(10) compression means located above said horizontal aligning means at least in the region of said unsupported sections of said belts and adapted to permit properly oriented objects to continue to be conveyed between said belts to a point of use and to force unoriented objects downwardly out of the unsupported region defined by said oppositely disposed belts;

(11) return chute means having the upper end thereof in object-receiving relationship below sm'd unsupported region of said belts and having the discharge end directed into said hopper for return of unoriented objects thereto.

8. Apparatus for handling elongated tailed objects having an enlargement at one end, which objects are to be oriented, said apparatus comprising:

(1) a hopper adapted to contain elongated tailed objects having an enlargement at one end;

(2) inclined wall means in said hopper adapted to direct the objects in said hopper toward a predetermined bottom region thereof;

(3) an inclined elevating conveyor having the bottom portion thereof in operative association with said predetermined bottom region of said hopper and comprising horizontally arranged flight bars adapted to engage beneath the enlargements thereof the objects in said region of said hopper and to convey them upwardly out of said hopper, said conveyer being of a width and each of said flight bars being of a horizontal extent within said width to permit simultaneous engagement with and conveyance of more than one of the objects by each of said flight bars;

(4) a downwardly inclined plane located beneath the upper end of said elevating conveyor, said inclined plane extending horizontally for substantially the extent of said flight bars and adapted to receive objects dropping from the upper end of said elevating conveyer;

(5) a horizontally disposed rotatably mounted worm feed positioned adjacent the lower region of said inclined plane, said worm feed comprising a helically arranged cleat on a cylindrical surface, said cylindrical surface defining with said lower-region of said inclined plane, an area ofsubstantially V-shaped cross section adapted to intercept the elongated tailed objects which move downwardly on said inclined plane said area of substantially V-shaped cross-section and said helically arranged cleat being dimensioned to maintain the intercepted elongated tailed objects substantially horizontally disposed with the main axes thereof oriented in directions substantially parallel to the main axis of said cylindrical surface of said worm feed; and

(6) driving means for rotating said worm feed whereby objects intercepted thereby and maintained in said substantially horizontal disposition are cause to move horizontally toward one end of said feed and finally to drop off said end.

9. Apparatus as claimed in claim 8 wherein said drivmg means are operatively associated with said worm feed for rotating the latter to cause the surface thereof closest to said lower region of said inclined plane to move in a generally upwardly direction.

10. Apparatus for orienting elongated objects having one end thereof of larger cross sectional dimension and a narrower tail depending therefrom, said apparatus comprising:

(I) an orienting conveyor comprising an upwardly inclined movable upwardly-facing surface adapted to receive the tailed elongated objetcs to be oriented;

(2) directing means operatively associated with said surface and adapted to direct the elongated objects carried upwardly by said surface to an upper predetermined region located on the longitudinal axis of movement of said surface;

(3) an orienting chute having a slot extending longitudinally thereof, said orienting chute having at least its upper end provided with an object-receiving opening, said upper open end of said chute being positioned adjacent to and facing said upper predetermined region of said surface with the slot of said chute remote from and in substantial alignment with said predetermined region of said surface, said chute extending downwardly from adjacent said region of said surface and inclined in the same general direction as is said surface, whereby said chute is adapted to conduct objects discharged from said predetermined region of said movable surface downwardly, with the tails of the objects in said slot.

11. Apparatus for orienting elongated objects as claimed in claim 10 wherein (4) said orienting chute, in the region of its upper open end, is in the general form of an are facing toward said upper predetermined region of said surface.

12. Apparatus for orienting elongated objects as claimed in claim 11 wherein (S) the slot in said chute is widest in the region of a the are nearest said upper predetermined region of said movable surface and gradually narrows to a constant width along said arc.

13. Apparatus for orienting elongated objects as claimed in claim 12 wherein V (6) the distance that said region of said surface and the slot'of said chute is spaced, is limited to less than the length of the tail of the objects to be oriented and greater than the cross-sectional dimension of the larger end thereof. 14. Apparatus for orienting elongated objects as claimed in claim 13 wherein (7) said upwardly-facing movable surface of said orienting conveyor (1) is provided by an endless belt; and

(8) said directing means (2) comprises at least one wall vertically extending over the surface of said belt at an angle toward said longitudinal axis thereof in said upper region.

15. Apparatus for orienting elongated objects as claimed in claim 14 wherein adjustment means are provided that 17 are operatively associated with said vertical wall for permitting changing of said angle.

16. Apparatus for orienting elongated objects as claimed in claim 15 wherein adjustable speed driving means are operatively associated with said endless belt.

17. Apparatus for orienting elongated objects as claimed in claim 16 wherein said chute is provided in a region below its upper end with metering means adapted to engage and controllably move objects in said region, and said adjustable speed driving means are also operatively associated with said metering means.

18. Apparatus for orienting elongated tailed objects having an enlargement at one end, said apparatus comprising:

(1) horizontal aligning means comprising two opposed,

substantially vertically disposed, substantially horizontally movable belts;

(2) means supporting said belts in predetermined spaced relationship with each other with the lower ed es of said belts closer together than are the upper edges thereof whereby said belts are adapted to hold therebetween the enlarged ends of objects with the tails thereof depending through the space defined between said lower edges of said belts, said opposed movable belts having a region thereof where at least one of said belts is unsupported;

(3) means for driving said belts in a common direction from one end of said aligning means toward another end;

(4) feeding means operatively associated with said one end of said aligning means and adapted to discharge objects onto said belts;

(5) compression means located above said horizontal aligning means at least in the region of said unsupported section of said belts and adapted to permit properly oriented objects to continue to be conveyed between said belts toward said other end of said aligning means and to force unoriented objects downwardly out of the unsupported region defined by said oppositely disposed belts.

19. Apparatus for orienting elongated tailed objects as claimed in claim 18 wherein said compression means (3) comprises horizontally disposed bars adjacent the upper edges of said belts and defining therebetween a groove extending in substantial alignment with the space defined between said lower edges of said belts.

20. Apparatus for orienting elongated tailed objects as claimed in claim 18 wherein said belts of said aligning means (1) are endless belts each supported by at least a pair of rollers supported for rotation on substantially vertically disposed axes, and said supporting means (2) for said belts comprise a pair of opposed angle irons.

21. Apparatus for orienting elongated tailed objects as claimed in claim 18 wherein receiving means are located beneath the region of said unsupported sections of said belts for receiving unoriented objects forced downwardly out of said region by said compression means.

22. Apparatus for orienting elongated tailed objects as claimed in claim 18 wherein a discharge chute is positioned between said belts in the region of said other end of said aligning means and is adapted to receive oriented objects from the latter.

23. Apparatus for orienting elongated tailed objects as claimed in claim 22 wherein second compression means are positioned over said other end of said aligning means and are adapted to urge oriented objects from said belts to said discharge chute.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,649,214 Kirby Aug. 18, 1953 2,771,203 Collins Nov. 20, 1956 2.883.446 Cook May 6, 1958 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No, 3,148,762 September 15, 1964 Fred C., Gleason It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 4, line 62 for "ends wall" read end walls column 7 line 20, for "V-shaped" read U-shaped column ll, line 35, for "upper" read hopper column l6 line 26, for "olojetcs read objects Q Signed and sealed this 9th day of February 1965,

(SEAL) Attest:

ERNEST W. SWIDER EDWARD J. BRENNER Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents 

1. APPARATUS FOR ORIENTING ELONGATED TAILED OBJECTS HAVING AN ENLARGEMENT AT ONE END, SAID APPARATUS COMPRISING: (1) A HOPPER ADAPTED TO CONTAIN ELONGATED TAILED OBJECS HAVING AN ENLARGEMENT AT ONE END; (2) A TAIL-ALIGNING CONVEYOR COMPRISING A MOVABLE SURFACE HAVING AN OBJECT-RECEVING REGION AND AN OBJECTDISCHARGING END; (3) A SECOND CONVEYOR OPERATIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH SAID HOPPER AND SAID TAIL-ALIGNING CONVEYOR AND ADAPTED TO WITHDRAW ELONGATED TAILED OBJECTS FROM SAID HOPPER AND TO DELIVER THE OBJECTS SERIATIM TO SAID OBJECTRECEIVING REGION OF SAID MOVABLE SURFACE; (4) A TAIL-ALIGNING CHUTE HAVING ITS OBJECT-RECEIVING END POSITIONED ADJACENT SAID OBJECT-DISCHARGING END OF SAID MOVABLE SURFACE AND ADAPTED TO RECEIVE OBJECTS DISCHARGED FROM SAID END OF SAID MOVABLE SURFACE, SAID CHUTE HAVING DISCHARGE MEANS AT THE LOWER END THEREOF ADAPTED TO DISCHARGE OBJECTS FROM SAID CHUTE; (5) A HORIZONTAL ALIGNING DEVICE HAVING ONE END THEREOF 